


IKEA Bed

by wolfie_slays



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, IKEA Furniture, M/M, Mentions of Masturbation, Pre-Slash, Teacher Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 23:41:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16439072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfie_slays/pseuds/wolfie_slays
Summary: Prompt: ‘It’s like 3am and I’m exhausted and I can hear you raging next door about failing at putting an IKEA bed together so here I am helping you put it together and holy shit you’re cute.’





	IKEA Bed

“Shit!” yelped a voice through the wall, followed by an almighty crash.

Bucky shot upright in bed, features clouded with annoyance. He was exhausted from working overtime four nights this week, and was in desperate need of sleep, yet here he was at three in the morning, wide awake. His new neighbour was already making a racket, and the thin walls of the apartment building did nothing to muffle the incessant crashes and cursing that had been going on for a good four hours.

Bucky hadn’t seen his new neighbour, but the gossiping old ladies downstairs had told him that he was a young man, a teacher, and he’d moved into the new apartment alone after a messy divorce with his ex-husband.

There was more muffled cursing from through the plaster, and Bucky jumped as something collided with the wall from the other side, right next to his head. It didn’t seem like the guy was going to shut up any time soon, and so Bucky reluctantly slithered out from under the covers and pulled on a pair of sweatpants, deciding to forgo a shirt.

The hallway was dark, and chilly, and Bucky silently padded along the carpeted floor to his new neighbour’s front door. Three sharp raps and about twenty seconds later, the door swung open, and all of Bucky’s anger flew directly out of the window. In front of him stood a tall, muscled blonde, chest heaving slightly and covered in a sheen of sweat.

“Hey there, how can I help you?” asked the man, eyeing Bucky suspiciously.

“Oh, I, um…” Bucky stuttered, having apparently forgotten how to form sentences. “I’m your neighbour.”

The man raised an eyebrow, taking in Bucky’s tired and shirtless image. Suddenly his features softened, and a mild look of panic appeared on his face.

“Oh my gosh, do you live next door? Was I keeping you awake?” he asked earnestly. “I’m so sorry, I’ll try to keep it down, it’s just dumb IKEA instructions that don’t make any sense-”

“You’re building IKEA furniture at three in the morning?” Bucky interrupted incredulously, seemingly having found the ability to speak again. 

“Yeah.” laughed the guy sheepishly. “I’ve been marking creative writing assignments all evening, I’m an elementary school teacher, and my back hurts so bad from sleeping on the sofa last night that I decided to try and build a bed, but I didn’t realise how late it was until I was in too deep, and here we are." 

Bucky gaped at the man in front of him, melting slightly at the admission that he’d lost track of time because he was spending his Friday evening marking his student’s work. Making a snap decision, Bucky offered his hand to the man in front of him.

"James Barnes.” he introduced himself. “But everyone calls me Bucky.”

“Steve Rogers.” replied the man with a smile, shaking his hand. “And I have to say, this is not how I wanted to meet you. I was planning on coming round tomorrow morning with a plate of cookies.”

“Well, this is as good a time as any.” Bucky said with a grin. “Want me to come and give you a hand? Ninety per cent of my apartment is from IKEA, I’ve pretty much got the hang of it by now.”

Steve’s smile was incredible, and Bucky swore he felt his heart physically skip a beat to see the man’s tired face light up like that.

“Really? That would be incredible, Bucky, thank you.” beamed Steve, holding the door open and stepping aside so Bucky could come in. “Right this way.”

Steve’s apartment was a mirror image of Bucky’s, save from the fact that it was completely empty, aside from a few boxes of flat-pack furniture strewn here and there. Bucky followed Steve into his bedroom, wincing at the chaos that was evidently the product of hours of struggling on Steve’s part.  

“Jeez, you really have made a mess of this, haven’t you?” pondered Bucky, toeing a metal bar lying by his foot.

“Is it salvageable?” asked Steve, and Bucky nodded.

“We’ll have you a bed in no time.”

—————————————-

Half an hour later, and with only one minor injury (Steve hammering his thumb instead of the wood), there was a fully functional bed standing in the middle of Steve’s bedroom, and Bucky had never seen a man look so relieved.

“I honestly can’t thank you enough, I reckon it would have been another night on the sofa if you hadn’t come to my rescue.” said Steve earnestly, turning to look at Bucky. “I’m so sorry for keeping you awake, I promise I’m normally a good neighbour.”

“No problem.” assured Bucky with a smile. “Though I do still expect that plate of cookies tomorrow morning.”

“Of course!” replied Steve with a firm nod. “It’s the least I could do.”

Bucky bit his lip with nervousness, taking a moment to appreciate the sight of the tired, handsome, muscled blonde man stood in front of him.

“How about you come and have breakfast with me tomorrow morning?” Bucky asked.

“Absolutely not.” said Steve, shaking his head. “I already dragged you in here in the middle of the night, I’m not going to impose on you any more. I feel awful.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you don’t even have a fridge, Steve.” chuckled Bucky. “You bring cookies, I’ll have breakfast ready around ten. Sound good?”

Steve nodded, tongue darting out to wet his lower lip, and Bucky swore in that moment that he’d died and gone to heaven, then immediately regretted the decision to wear sweatpants.

“Well, as fun as this has been, I’m going to bed.” said Bucky, stifling a yawn for extra effect. “And I suggest you do too.”

“We didn’t build the bed for me to stay up all night.” replied Steve in agreement, following Bucky to the front door. “Thanks again, Bucky.”

“No problem.” said Bucky, turning to give Steve a wave.

Bucky ducked back inside his apartment as fast as possible, locking the door behind him. He didn’t even make it into the bedroom before he was shoving his hands down his pants, head filled with images of a blonde, muscled man, Steve’s name on his lips as he came.

Finally, Bucky collapsed into bed, feeling the exhaustion settle in as he wrapped himself in his duvet. The room fell silent, and he drifted off to sleep to the sound of Steve’s snoring coming through the wall.


End file.
